Hope and help for triple-negative (TNBC) and other forms of hormone-negative breast cancer.

Saturday, February 22, 2014

Osteoporosis Drug Evista May Treat TNBC

The osteoporosis drug raloxifene, primarily prescribed for post-menopausal women, may also be able to treat triple-negative breast cancer, according to research published in Cell Death and Disease.

In lab tests, researchers found that the drug, marketed under the brand name Evista, killed human TNBC cells as well as liver cancer cells. Raloxifene binds with a protein called the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) and kills cancer cells that do not have receptors for estrogen. Included in the study was an analysis of data on women who had estrogen-negative breast cancers, in which researchers found increased survival rates in the women whose breast cancers had higher levels of the AhR protein.

Raloxifene would have to go through clinical trials, showing its effects on women rather than just on cells in the lab, before it can become an approved therapy, but,under the Affordable Care Act, most health insurance plans are now required to offer raloxifene at no cost to women who have an increased risk of developing breast cancer.

3 comments:

Laura Theis,MD lauratheismd@yahoo.com
said...

Hi Patricia - Thank you for your blog and your book. I was very interested in your post as I am a family practice doctor with a best friend with TNBC. However, I think you may have gotten your facts for this post a little bit wrong. I read the Cell Death & Disease article that you referenced and I don't believe that they actually tested this medication in women. They tested it on cancer cells in a lab, in a petri dish, and then fed the information into a computer program to try to predict if this would help women. The results were very favorable, but unfortunately this is very different than actually testing it on women. I hope you take this in the positive spirit that it was intended. And please keep up the good work that you do! You are very inspiring!-Laura Theis, MD

Thanks, Laura. I always appreciate reader comments, as this whole enterprise is just me, myself and I, so when something is unclear, I have to depend on people like you to let me know. I did think I had made it clear that this research was in the lab, but I added an extra clause after the statement on clinical trials, so it reads: "Raloxifene would have to go through clinical trials, showing its effects on women rather than just on cells in the lab, before it can become an approved therapy...." Does that help?

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Welcome

When I was diagnosed with hormone-receptor-negative breast cancer, I required a positive attitude of myself—I was not going to let a disease have the upper hand. I hope I can share some at that attitude with you while I offer what I have learned in my trek through this disease as a patient and medical writer.

It's a given that life ends in death. Cancer just makes you face that inevitability more directly than you might have before. To me, that means living fully right now.

Three Mountain Dogs, a children's book by Patricia Prijatel

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) lacks hormone receptors for estrogen, progesterone, and Her2/neu. It affects about 20 percent of all those with breast cancer. This blog offers information and hope for those with TNBC and other forms of hormone-negative breast cancer.

Calm Spirit Note Cards

Blank greeting cards with the Calm Spirit image are available in packets of 6. They're ideal for sending a personal message of encouragement to anyone living with cancer. Boxes of six are available for $10.00 and can be ordered by contacting my friend Madlyn at madlyn.ferraro@ gmail com. Individual cards are $2.50 each.